Sarcopenic dysphagia and aspiration pneumonia in older people

Importance of early assessment and multioccupational interventions in sarcopenic dysphagia and aspiration pneumonia

“…Dear Editor, Eiraku et al reported a senile patient with heart failure, caused by magnesium-containing laxative agent 1. I agree with their conclusion that monitoring serum electrolytes is important to prevent heart failure and renal insufficiency in senile patients with hypermagnesemia.…”

“…We would like to thank Ebihara et al for his thoughtful Letters to the Editor. 1 We are thankful to have colleagues who, like our team of authors, address aspiration pneumonia and sarcopenic dysphagia with interest. We hope that this will inspire more clinicians to further learn about sarcopenic dysphagia and take steps to improve prognosis.…”

Who treats older patients with aspiration pneumonia?

“…We are grateful to Nagai et al for their polite comments 1 regarding our previous letter. 2 Although their rates of aspiration pneumonia were lower than expected, their study included only the primary diseases in patients with sarcopenic dysphagia. Aspiration pneumonia is temporary and it does not usually become a primary disease, even if it was previously present.…”

Respiratory Infections in the Aging Lung: Implications for Diagnosis, Therapy, and Prevention

“…The treatment of lung infections in the elderly is not merely a matter of the correct choice of antibiotic therapy, but also needs to address age-specific comorbidities and functional decline in a comprehensive therapeutic effort. Individual risk factors are associated with poor functional recovery in the elderly population, particularly the coexistence of dysphagia, sarcopenia, and aspiration pneumonia [ 111 ]. Typical comorbidities in old age, such as Parkinson’s disease or other cognitive deficiencies, may aggravate the course of pneumonia more than age-induced changes of respiratory mechanics per se.…”